The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority in partnership with the American Public Power Association has officially launched the 2025 Light Up Navajo effort to help bring electricity to families in need in the Navajo Nation, NTUA said on April 8.
This year there are 45 electric utility companies that will participate in the electrification initiative, beginning April 6th and ending August 1st.
Over 250 electric line workers will be traveling to the Navajo Nation over the next few months to help connect the home of Navajo families to the electric grid. The goal is to more than 200 homes.
Visiting line workers will be working alongside NTUA electric line crews. The visiting crews represent utilities located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The first week NTUA will host teams from the Salt River Project in Phoenix. SRP will be joined by teams from Missouri River Energy Services and Riviera Utilities in Alabama – both participating in Light Up Navajo for the first time. The worksites will include homes in Leupp (AZ), Dilkon (AZ), Naschitti (NM), and St. Michaels (AZ). Each week they will be working on shovel-ready projects.
“The visiting teams represent communities who want to help build positive change for families waiting for electricity,” said NTUA General Manager Walter Haase.
“They learned about our challenges and were prompted to be a part of this dramatically meaningful project,” Haase said. “We are deeply grateful for the outside utilities for sending us line workers who raised their hands and said – “Sign me up, I’ll go.””
Scott Corwin, President and CEO of APPA, traveled to Arizona this week to visit various public power crews participating in Light Up Navajo VI.
Light Up Navajo has become a unique mutual aid initiative by bringing together utility companies that represent public power, rural cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities such as the Public Service Company of New Mexico and Arizona Public Service, and Tucson Electric Power.
LUN was created through a partnership with American Public Power Association (APPA). APPA has a mutual aid program that sends electric crews to areas hit by natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. Following those natural disasters, utility companies send crews to those regions to assist with power restoration.
In 2024, 44 utility companies from over 20 states sent their electric crews to be part of Light Up Navajo and extended electric power to 175 homes from April to July. In total, the LUN initiatives have connected 889 families to the electric grid.
